Two people are missing after a light plane crashed in waters of Tasmania’s southeast coast. The Cessna was carrying a pilot and one passenger who was photographing the Sydney to Hobart yacht race. Some of the yachts were diverted to help find the plane.

The Australian share market is trading fairly flat as the further fallen iron ore price offsets enthusiasm about the US economy. Either way, it’s a shorten day of trade and volumes are expected to be quite light.

Let’s take a look at the satellite image. Patchy showers and thunderstorms over northern and eastern Australia are being seen as a trough extends over the area with coastal showers in South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania due to unstable westerly winds while the west is stable and dry.

Let’s get to today’s news and leading the news, more than 2 billion dollars are expected to be spent by Australian consumers today at the boxing-day sale. Shops spent in record numbers in the lead-up to Christmas of around 45 billion dollars going through the sales. That’s a 3% increase on last year.

The Peter Reek body expects Christmas spending to be up this year. The Australian Retail Association says 45 billion dollars has gone to be spent in the lead-up to Christmas that’s a 4.3% gain on last year after a slowest data says spending now has picked over the last few days.

Leading the news this morning. A third Quantas plane has made unschedule landing in less than 24 hours because of the technical problems. A Dallas bound flight turned back to Sydney last night because of the problems with the seats , inflight entertainment and some of the toilets.

A South African judge has cleared Oscar Pistorius of murder, but the athlete could still be found guilty of culpable homicide. That sentence carries up to 15 years in jail. The judge has ruled Pistorius had acted hastily when he shot dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp but she says the prosecution has failed to prove that he meant to kill her.

Two men will face court in Brisbane today on terrorism-related charges. They are accused of recruiting and funding people to fight in Syria. The men were arrested during a series of raids across Brisbane yesterday.

And Apple has upped the end teeth on its rivals unveiling a new smart watch, a bigger new iPhone and new pay service. The smart watch is Apples first new product line since the iPad. Itll feature apps including a heart and fitness tracker.

Therere growing concerns that the Federal Government is laying the groundwork to abandon its promise to build 12 new submarines in South Australia. Indigenous groups are worried about the impact to change or have on local businesses.

Education Minister Christopher Pyne has denied he offered to help James Ashby in his sexual harassment claim against former Speaker Peter Slipper. Mr. Ashby has told 60 Minites that Mr. Pyne offered to find him a lawyer and assured him a job and warned him not to go public about the offer.

A defiant President Obama has warned the Islamic State militants that the US would not intimidated by video showing the beheading of American citizens. He says the barbaric murder of that second journalist Steven Sotloff has only stiffened the resolve of the US to act against the terror group.

Today's national accounts are expected to show Australia's economic growth slowed significantly during the last quarter. Economists are forecasting that Gross Domestic Product rose by 0.4 of a percent in the three months to the end of August.

The Immigration Minister has rejected suggestions by Iraqs ambassador that Australia is bypassing the Iraqi government by supplying weapons to Kurdish forces. Australia will begin delivering the weapons over the next few days. Scott Morrison says Australia has been dealing directly with the Iraqi government.

Australia is poised to start delivering weapons to Kurdish forces to help fight Islamic State militants in Iraq. Overnight Iraqi forces captured the besieged town of Amerli where Australian forces have earlier conducted an airdrop. The Prime Minister Tony Abbott has dismissed calls by the Greens to have parliament votes on Australian role in Iraq.

Virgin Australia has posted a record full-year loss, blaming it on the toughest conditions in history. The full-year net loss came in at 356 million dollars, triple the 98-million-dollar loss the year before.

The cold front moving over the southwest parts of Western Australia is producing showers and gusty winds. A moist southerly flow moving eastern parts of New South Wales is producing isolated showers. Skies remain generally clear elsewhere under a high-pressure ridge.

The United Nations Security Council has been holding an emergency meeting over the claim that Russia has sent troops into Eastern Ukraine. NATO has released satellite images it says show Russian artillery and armored vehicles inside Ukraine. Russia is denying the claim but the US says Russia is lying.